Believe in Me
by EbonyMUSICepic
Summary: When Detective Alice Stark is called to Burgess for a case, two strange people appear passed out near the crime scene, and Alice, Nakita, Haku & Ebony are asked to become Guardians. What will happen when new and old villains rise? Will they rise against their pasts or will fear and madness rule? -Rise of the Guardians/Soul Eater/Durarara! crossover
1. Prologue

Nobody POV

"How long has he been here?" Detective Stark asked Chief of Police of Burgess, Virginia.

"About twelve hours," the chief replied. "He was found out here when a family was about to have a picnic. Here, take a look."

The chief and the detective crouched down next to the dead body that they were talking about. He had been cut up everywhere and in his chest was a bloody pair of scissors. The boy had blue hair and looked like he was in his late 20s. But the strange thing was that the boy was dressed in a blue kimono and there was a yellow hairpin next to him. How odd…

"Do you know who he is?"

"We'll be running some tests to find that out. Same with fingerprints on the scissors, to answer your next question."

"Good. So why was I called here for just one murder? I know they might not happen as often here in Burgess, but that doesn't mean that anything here is odd. Well, except for the kimono part."

The chief handed her a piece of paper. When she read it her eyes went wide.

_It all clicks!_ She thought, looking to her right, where the form of a teenage girl stood and nodded. They were thinking the same thing: _Kimono. Cuts. Scissors. Hairpin. Song. _"You called me here because of my knowledge of music, right?"

The chief nodded. "A few teenagers who came by said that this is a Japanese song, and you're going to confirm that. Is it?"

"Yes, it's called the Tailor Shop on Enbizaka. It's a Vocaloid- Oh, no…"

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes… I have a feeling that there are going to be more murders. If this guy's killing people based on those songs, then we're going to have to work fast." She then turned to the medical examiner. "We're done here for now. If you need me again, call me."

"Where are you going?" The chief was surprised.

"There's research to be done, sir." And with that, she turned away and went inside her car, where the same teenage girl was in the passenger seat. But this didn't make Detective Stark flinch. "Looks like we're gonna have to catch a psycho, Ebony."

Ebony just looked at the detective. "Alice, do you think that we should call Nakita and Haku?"

"Only if my theory is right, which it most likely is." Alice drove away and caught a glimpse of a boy with white hair and a scared look on his face. She just shrugged it off and decided that it was just her eyes playing tricks.

Then again, she _was_ lying to herself.


	2. Something Jack This Way Comes

Ebony POV

_"Santa gave to me a revolver with live ammunition. _

_I directed it at you, who was standing before my eyes._

_Sayonara, my love…"_

I spun around the ball room of my castle, which was in a Wonderland- like place I discovered about twenty years after I was "born." All that the Man in the Moon told me was that my name is Ebony Fester. The rest of what I know about myself I found out on my own. I have strange powers, for starters. I'll explain some of that later. I can also sing and dance wonderfully (I really don't mean to brag, but just ask everyone who has ever heard me sing or seen me dance), so I think that I'm like some sort of Muse (from Greek Mythology. They are the goddesses of… well, entertainment pretty much). I also have wings, just so you know for future mentioning.

When I first found these things out I thought I was a phoenix, but I don't know any phoenix that can create anything just by using their imagination. Though, I only just started learning that ability, so I can't create elephants or anything like that. I had actually found the castle here; I just made most of the furniture and such (most of them by hand).

_"If I could go back and fix it,_

_Then I would want the two of us to go and see the summer fireworks festival._

_Please don't worry about me,_

_We'll definitely meet soon, okay?_

_Promise we'll be together no matter what?_

_We always used to say that to each other."_

When the song ended I just frowned. Opening my song viewer on my enchanted radio and going through my plethora of songs, I muttered, "That's enough Japanese music for now. Let's see what I can find in today's hits or something…"

I then paused when I saw a flash of blue, white and brown outside the window. For a second I thought that it was a Cheshire cat screwing around, but then I remembered that Cheshire cats normally aren't that big, and if they would be disappearing and reappearing.

I ran straight over to it and opened it up. Sticking my head out, I felt the wind blowing in my face. But it was strange because it was noticeably colder than it should be.

"Did you see something?" A soft voice asked, making me jump.

I turned around to see the one and only, Nakita, who was standing in the middle of the room. But she's also the last known Oracle since Greece was taken over by the Romans. Also one of the few who can manage to sneak up on me and the only one I can relate with when it comes to amnesia. I guess she is quite a clever spirit.

"Didn't you notice the wind here? It's colder than it should be!"

"Well, I came here by portal, but now that you have the window open I can definitely notice that."

"And I just saw something fly by the wind-" I was cut off by two surprised shrieks from Nakita and I as something crashed right through the roof of my ballroom.

* * *

Jack POV

"Note to self: ask for directions." I muttered to myself, flying in a random wooded area.

At least, I _think_ they were woods. The barks of the trees were black, but the leaves were white and the flowers were every other color imaginable.

"What's with this place? Whoa." When I rose above the trees, the world before me was even more interesting than just the trees.

Everywhere there was something glowing in bright colors. A floating cat just flew right by me as if I was something normal here, which I suppose is.

"Something tells me Wonderland wasn't just a dream."

I could then hear the quiet sound of… singing? I followed the voice to the large castle to find a window that lead to what appeared to be a ballroom. In the ballroom was a girl, probably sixteen or seventeen, dancing around and singing along to music- Japanese, maybe- with her eyes closed, covered in black eye shadow. All I knew was that it wasn't in English.

The girl had short black hair and was probably half a head shorter than I am. She was dressed like a punk ballerina, the way her skirt acted like a tutu and her shoes were laced up, but her shirt was hanging off of one shoulder. Her clothes mostly consisted of black, purple, red and green, but her headband was white.

As she twirled, I noticed that there was a tattoo of a treble clef on the side of her neck.

_She must be a spirit,_ I thought, remembering this place and how she was so free in this huge castle, which must be hers.

When I snapped back to reality, I heard the sound of a gunshot. At first I thought that somebody might have decided to get the intruder, but then I realized that it was from the song. A few more unknown verses followed, and then another gunshot. The song was over.

When she opened her dark purple eyes, she said, "That's enough Japanese music for now. Let's see what I can find in today's hits or something…"

When I realized that she was about to look this way, I flew straight up to the roof. The girl opened the window and looked around, trying to find me. She must have barely seen me, but she shivered.

I could hear a soft voice asking the girl if she had seen something, and I decided that it was my queue to get out of "Wonderland." Unfortunately, at that time, another cat was flying around, and when I flew up, he was so startled that I got smacked right back to the roof of the castle, falling right through. Which caused two surprised screams.

Great. I'll be sent to a dungeon for sure.

* * *

**Just so you guys know, the song that Ebony was singing is called The Last Revolver by Gumi. it's a Vocaloid song. I hope you guys are enjoying my story! review please! I LOVE YOU ALL **


	3. The Ballad of Ebony, Part 1

Ebony POV

When I was done covering my face, I saw from the wreckage that was once my roof a boy. He had hair like snow and skin that was almost that pale. He had a dark blue hoodie that had some frost on it, and brown pants (which I am totally jealous of) with a twine pattern at the bottom and no shoes.

In his hand was a pretty cool looking stick. It also had frost on it and was hooked at the top so you could hang things from it. For example, the back of some guy's shirt if you want to crudely get information out of him. What? It _could_ be used for that!

Nakita and I stared for a moment or two before we took a step forward. When he moved slightly, Nakita took back her step but I took another step forward. I want to talk to who broke my castle, so I go right up to him and sat right down next to him. When my face was about five inches from his, I began to knock on his head carefully, as to not give him a concussion.

"_Hello?_" He was barely waking up, but he didn't open his eyes. I ignored Nakita's warnings as I continued to speak. "Would you mind waking up, sleepy- head? I'm sorry that I'm interrupting whatever vision Sanderson McSnoose is giving you, but I do want to talk to you. As in_ now_!" That last impatient shout jolted him awake and his blue eyes to snapped open. He quickly got up, but that just caused his forehead to bang on mine. We both put our hand on where the new headache started and groaned in pain.

"Oh, great," he deadpanned, scooting away from me slightly. "Another bruise."

"You'll be fine, random person. But I _do_ want to know who you are and how you got here." After I helped him out of the wreckage once known as a roof, I decided that it was time to ask his name while I figured out how long it would take to fix the room to its former glory. "So what's your name?"

"Jack Frost, the spirit of winter," he replied. He took a step towards the small battlefield and I. "Since I'm the one who broke the roof, can I help fix it? You don't have to do anything for me in return."

I only looked at him. "How gentlemanly of you. No, thank you. I think I can take care of this myself." I turned to Nakita. "Can you bring Jack to the tea room? I'll be there in a bit." She nodded and gave Jack the signal to follow her. I sighed and turned to the mess of a room in front of me. "This shouldn't take long…"

* * *

And I was right. It actually didn't take very long at all to fix my ballroom. It took maybe three or five minutes. I didn't bother looking at a clock until I was done, so I'm actually just guessing.

After I was done, I headed towards my tea room, which isn't really much of one. It's more like a huge living room, but I call it a tea room because it just sounds fancy.

One corner of the room had a door that lead to a room full of video games of all sorts (roleplay, dancing, fitness, you name it), a second had a door that lead to room with movies and seasons of shows. In a third was a door with a treble clef on it, which had a room with all kinds of music.

But my attention was more on the general room, which had a single round table, which was occupied by Jack, who was just looking around curiously. I was almost surprised that Jack actually stuck around, to be honest. He _had_ to have had to make a blizzard somewhere, kinda like the one in '68, which I'm pretty sure ticked off the Easter Bunny quite a bit, considering what day it was on.

Not that I had actually seen his response. The only one who has actually spoken to the other spirits- especially the Guardians, who guard the kids of the world- is my dear rabbit- eared friend Haku Valentine, who is, you guessed it, a Valentine. Kinda like the Cupid, but they don't have as many powers of love as them.

I guess Haku can explain this all to you when her point of view is shown, but as for now I have to focus on what's going on in mine.

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, I remember now! Jack's in my tea room!

"I take it that Nakita went to go make the tea?" I asked quietly, sitting down next to him. He turned to look at me.

"She's making herself some tea, yeah. I don't really want to drink anything hot." When Jack smiled slightly, my "girly teenager mind" decided to try to make me freak out. Luckily, my regular mind managed to push it down and I was able to just smile back.

"I can see why." But then my "I must know EVERYTHING mind" shoved through. "So what's it like? Being a Guardian, being so known and loved by almost every kid out there?"

"Well… being a Guardian has its ups and downs, but being believed for the first time in three hundred years is amazing. Often times, I get to get into a snowball fight or two with the kids, and they're always laughing and having fun!" He almost continued, but then he paused. "Are you okay?"

_Am I making myself too obvious?_ I thought as I nodded. "I haven't been believed in by a child in sixteen years. She can still see me, but she's twenty- two now, going to be twenty- three in a few months. We used to hang out all the time until she became a detective. Before, she was here almost every day, practicing dancing, singing… all of the things I normally do, but most of the time it was with Nakita and our friend Haku.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, Nakita and Haku are two of the most amazing people I have ever known, but Alice is at the top. We've been so close for so long, just like Nakita and Haku, even if they've been together for only they really know how long and Alice and I just sixteen…

"But who knows how long she's going to be able to see me for? These days she's spending most of her time solving cases, and I don't get to help her out with them. Well, except for this one…" I then shudder. Not just because of how ugly it's going to get, but because I'm revealing way too much about myself. Thanks a lot, "depressed mind." I then look and see the look on his face, and my "freak out now mind" kicks "depressed" in the head and goes nuts. "I-I'm sorry! I-I d-didn't m-mean to-" I cut myself off by banging my head on the table. "Stupid me."

"Enough self- loathing, Ebony!" Nakita snapped, taking a seat on my other side. "You're scaring the guest! Luckily for me, I made you some tea also."

"What about you reminds me of Iroh sometimes?" I mumbled, my head still on the table.

"Which one?"

"The first one."

"Maybe the fact that I love tea?"

"Makes sense." When I looked up, I gave a small laugh because of Jack's confused expression. "You obviously need to start watching more cartoons. The first Iroh is just an old guy with a tea obsession from a cartoon. The other Iroh I'm guessing is his great- nephew, but I'm not positive there might be one more great in there."

Jack gave a nod of understanding. When he looked at the clock on the wall, he jumped right out of his seat. "I'm late!"

"For a very important date?" Jack gave me a look that said, "was that necessary?" "I'm sorry, that just _had_ to come out. So what are you late for?"

"There's a kid I'm supposed to hang out with right now! I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, but I have to go." He was about to fly up, but then he stopped. "Is there a quick way out of here?"

I just pulled a key from my pocket. "If you want to come over, use this on any door. If there's no door, use a crack in a tree's bark. You can do the same thing here to go wherever you need to go so you won't be any later than you already are."

"Thanks! It was nice to meet you! And I'm going to have to meet Alice one of these days!"

"No problem. Tell the kid I say hi."

"Me too!" Nakita added.

"Okay. See ya!" Jack waved and, turned the key in the movie door and left.

Nakita sighed, "Well, he seems nice. And he's not half- bad looking, either." Finishing up her tea, she stood up. "I'd love to stick around, but I just remembered that there's something I promised Sandy I would help him out with."

"Have fun." Nakita created a portal and walked through, leaving me and my now blue, black grey and white Wonderland.

I lied when I said I haven't had a believer in sixteen years. Actually, it's only been two years since I've had another one. Her name is Cleo and she's only eight years old. The only reason why I didn't mention her is because unless I find a way to save her without people trying to look for her and drag her back to the hell that she's forced to live at, she's either going to die or go insane. Though, they already think she's insane.

I visit her every night, which is why I don't make night plans anymore. She says that because of me I don't have nightmares anymore. In my mind I wonder if Pitch Black, the spirit of fear, just doesn't come in time because I'm there until Sandy shows up, though he doesn't notice me there. I'm developing a plan for her, but for that I need either an adult that can be seen- and Alice wouldn't agree to it because of her work- or for my creation power to hurry up and let me create a life sized puppet that looks like a normal human to take her away from that place. But until then, I'll just make sure she's safe at night.

However, I can't say the same about the day because I'm either sometimes sleeping, or Haku and Nakita are normally visiting and I haven't told them about Cleo yet. But at least once a week I visit her and find that she's been abused somehow. Sometimes she's bruised, bleeding or both. Sometimes she's even been burned.

You see now why she needs to get out of there? Why it's so tempting to just march in there and create a bloodbath? But that would just make matters worse, but if I go to her and they're going to hurt her, they'll be drowning in the hell that they have to pay.

_Soon,_ I thought to myself, running a hand through my hair as I walked over to my bedroom. _Soon you'll be free. I promise._


	4. Nice Choices, Manny!

Jack POV

As I flew back to the lake from Jamie's place, I couldn't help but think about how sad Ebony seemed. Somehow, there was something she wasn't telling me. Something huge.

I shook my head and decided to think about when I was hanging out with Jamie. Unfortunately, when I explained some of who I thought Ebony was, he declared that I had a girlfriend, causing a snowball to the face for me when I got caught off- guard by that remark.

I mean, don't get me wrong, Ebony seems great, but we just met!

I was put off of those thoughts when I looked up at the sky. The Northern Lights shone bright, which was an indication for me to head over to the North Pole.

Something is wrong.

When I got to the North Pole, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy had already arrived, and North was explaining what happened.

"I vas just vorking in my office, ven I heard a BOOM!" The Babytooths jumped when North shouted. He just continued to explain. "And ven I come out, I find nightmare sand and some green sand on globe!" Phil the yeti then pulled out a camera showing what North had just explained.

We all knew what is going on right then: Pitch is back, but this time he's got backup!

Bunny and North then argued over what to do, while Tooth was trying to calm them down. I looked over at Sandy and noticed how he was pointing at Manny and making symbols over his head, indicating that Manny was shining the light down on the room.

"Hey, guys…" I started, but somehow they just got louder, not paying attention to what was going on. "HEY!" I waved my staff one direction, causing me to accidentally freeze one of the elves. They all looked at me, silent. "I think Manny wants to say something." We all then back up so we can see what he wants to show us.

Manny then proceeded to show us some other details as to what's going on. First, he showed Pitch and some random guy who was apparently a new enemy. Then, he made a pedestal kinda like when I was chosen to be a Guardian.

"Not the groundhog…" Bunny chanted, obviously hoping that the groundhog wouldn't be in the picture. He then said, "On second thought…" when the image of a rabbit- eared girl appeared, causing Tooth to punch him in the arm. It was Haku Valentine, a world- famous Valentine… but not in the way you'd think. She's actually more like the reject.

But then the image changed to Nakita. And then a girl I've never seen before. Then finally… just a head. A head with spiky hair and a familiar face.

It was Ebony's head.

"Why are there so many new Guardians all of the sudden?" Tooth asked. "And why haven't I ever seen some of them?"

Is Ebony really that powerful, I thought.

"Now who is Ebony, Frostbite?" I heard Bunny snap. Looking up at the other Guardians, I realized that maybe I was thinking out loud…

But then I was surprised by Sandy pointing at the face of Ebony.

"You know her?" Sandy nodded as symbols that made no sense went above his head.

"Well, don' tell me ya know all off the new Guardians!" Sandy nodded again. Bunny then turned to me. "An' how many of them do ya know?"

"I just know her," I pointed to Ebony's image. "Everybody knows who Haku is. And Nakita. You know, the girl who was shown after-"

"I get it!" Apparently, Bunny's got some grudge against the Valentine. "But how do ya know the other two?"

"I accidentally crash- landed into Ebony's castle earlier before I went to Jamie's house, and Nakita just so happened to be there. Ebony even gave me a key so I could go to her place." I held up the key, which was shimmering blue. "We can go get her now if you want."

"No, ve have to get in contact with everyone," North pointed out. "They have to be here at same time. Jack, bring yetis along to get Ebony. Tooth, contact Nakita. Bunny, contact Haku-" Bunny starts complaining to this.

"What about the other girl?" Tooth asked.

"I know vere to find her." Somehow I knew that the Guardian he was going to find was for sure going to put up a fight.

While the yetis and I jumped through a portal from of the two snow globes we were given by North, he rode away on his sleigh with Phil to go find the Guardian that he just so happened to know the location of. The last I saw was Tooth telling some of the Babytooths to go find Nakita and Haku so the stubborn Kangaroo wouldn't have to.

* * *

Ebony POV

After a visit for my secret believer, I sprawled myself on my bed for a few minutes, thinking about the bruises that she had just gotten. The reason why they get such a kick out of the poor girl, I will never know.

But now I'm remembering that I never finished my tea or put the cups away. When I walked over to the tea room, I saw that none of the Cheshire cats had come and retrieved them for me, which was just fine. I lead them, but I don't give them petty commands like clean up after me. That's what the royal do.

As I put them away in the kitchen, I hear the sounds of somebody entering the building. I bet you can guess that my first assumption wasn't that a friend came over for a surprise visit. Grabbing a katana blade (from a samurai friend a while back), I pulled it out of its holder thing (you can't possibly expect me to remember what it's called while I'm on Emergency Mode) as I walked down the hall.

After a few I finally made it to the ballroom, where I could tell who was there already. Where in the middle of the room was Jack Frost.

"Jack!" I snapped, putting the katana away. "Don't scare me like that! I'm not going to take random things appearing in my castle as a friend coming for a surprise visit!"

"Hey, Ebony!" Jack just gave a grin. "Sorry I came without warning, but I don't know how I'm supposed to communicate otherwise!"

"I'll figure that out later. So what are you doing here?"

"I came here to pick you up."

"For what?" I asked, completely confused.

The answer to that was me being put into a bag. And then I started shouting things that young ladies like me shouldn't be saying that loud the whole time until the bag was dropped on the ground. I silently pulled out my katana while I listened to the others talk.

"Oh course, you had to put her in a bag?" Jack's voice questioned. "It was North's idea, wasn't it?" Some grunts followed.

North? As in North, aka Santa Clause? The Guardian of Wonder? Oh boy, I'm in deeper than I thought. Whatever I did.

"Well, everyone be careful. She's got a-" Jack's voice was cut off by me jumping out of the bag and pointing my sword towards him. "Yeah, that."

"Jack Frost. Where the hell am I?" I glared. Can't you tell how happy I am?

"The North Pole…" Yeah, he's scared now.

"Is there a reason for that?" Jack gulped and nodded.

Before I could ask what the reason was, I was grabbed from behind, causing me to drop the katana and flip over whoever grabbed me. It turned out to be a six- foot rabbit, who I assume is the Easter Bunny, E. Aster Bunnymund. I then spread my wings and flew right up to the giant globe in the room. Looking in the room, I saw that almost all of the Guardians were here. In the room was Jack Frost, Bunnymund, Tooth and even the adorable Sandman was there.

"So if you guys are all here, then where's-" I was cut off by the sound of lots of swearing from a door coming from an all- too- familiar voice. In came North, along with a yeti holding… "Alice!"

She then looked up at me. "Ebony! What the hell kind of joke is this?"

"Ask them!"I pointed to the Guardians. "Frostbite here put me in a bag and brought me here!"

"Hey! That last part was the yetis!"

"I don't care! And if you're going to abuse that key I gave you like that, then toss it up!"

"What?"

"Just toss the damn key!"

A portal then opened, and through it stepped Nakita and some of the Tooth Fairy's little minions.

"Alright, Tooth. What's going on? And why is there a human there and Ebony up there?"

My communicator then buzzed. It was Haku. "Not now, Haku. I'm in the middle of being confused!"

"But Ebony, I'm stuck!" She whined.

"How far this time?"

"Only up to my stomach!"

"Well, better than last time. Where are you?"

"I'm at the North Pole! Tooth's minions asked me to come over, and so I did, but now I'm stuck and it's freezing! Oh, wait never mind! I can see one of North's yetis! I'll talk to you later! Hey!" She hung up.

"Won't Haku be surprised." I smirked slightly. "Haku's coming! But she's stuck again."

"How far this time?" Nakita asked.

"A lot better than last time! She's up to her stomach!"

"Wasn't that last time almost up to her neck?" Alice asked.

"Actually, it was." I then looked at the confused Guardian's faces and laughed. "Haku's been trying out Bunny's mode of transportation. She figures since she's technically a rabbit, she can do it. Though she has a nasty habit of getting stuck. But she's improving. Oh, here she comes now."

Sure enough, another yeti came in carrying a shivering Haku, with her clothes and white hair slightly damp because of the snow. Her impatient red eyes looked around the room, confused.

"Whoa, is there some sort of party or something?" She remarked.

"A party of the confused…" Nakita rambled. She often says random things, and they do sound mystical most of the time. Like what she just said now, this is pretty accurate.

"Well, then clear things up for us!" Haku snapped at Bunny.

"Why do I have to do it, ya little-"

"Enough!" North shouted, holding a random book. "Time to start ceremony!"

"Then where are the rings?" Haku asked, obviously trying to be irritating.

"Wrong ceremony, Haku!" I shouted.

"I know! But it's hard not to joke when North says something like that while holding a book!" She grinned.

But then that smile was wiped off of her face when she was shoved right in front of said Guardian. The same thing happened to Alice and Nakita, and the elves, who were apparently hiding somewhere, were playing instruments or holding out random shoes with Gs on them. A few elves were trying to come up for me, but they couldn't get me because of the fact that they can't fly.

"Ebony, it would be great if you came down from there!" Tooth called.

"I will if you explain to me what you think you're trying to do!"

"That would be terrific!" Alice said, clapping her hands once. "So start explaining for the detective and her pals, could you?"

"Wait a-" Bunny did a double take. "Human? Detective?"

"I think we've already established that." Alice said as I flew down.

"Why would Manny choose a human to be a Guardian?" Tooth looked at Alice.

If I had coffee at the moment, it would have been spit all over the place.

"Guardian?" Haku glared at the Guardians. "That's what you called me here for? To ask me- no, you didn't even do that! To drag me into this whole Guardian business?"

"Ya, we did." Bunny glared back at Haku. "Do ya have a problem with that, Valentine?"

"Pretty major, Fluffy." Jack almost started laughing, but then catching Bunny's gaze, he kept his mouth shut.

At this point, Haku and Bunny were fighting, North and Alice were arguing (obviously because of how she had to be dragged over here, especially at a time like this), Sandy was trying to help out Jack with the elves because of my key, and now Tooth and Nakita were arguing because of Nakita's habit of rambling and zoning out at inconvenient times (well, it's actually not her fault, she is an oracle, after all).

Unfortunately, my patience was wearing thin.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" I shouted, causing my sound waves echo around the room in red strips. I felt my hair go in its weird fire stage whenever I get super ticked.

Everybody then looked up at me. Haku was just about to kick Bunny in the face; one elf was in Jack's hoodie; Alice's impatient face was showing its true colors. Well, it was until she jumped when I shouted, so she replaced it with a startled face.

Smoothing my hair back so it was normal, I gave a sigh. "Now that I have everyone's attention and there's no more fighting," I gave a look to Haku, who merely gave a smirk. "I can guess that Pitch is back again, right?"

A yeti then came up to me with a camera. I waved my friends over by me so we could all watch the video. Apparently the video started out with said yeti screwing around with the camera when everybody started freaking out, so he pointed it at the globe. On it was black sand and some sort of green substance, probably also sand. I recognized the black sand as being nightmare sand, but I'm clueless as to what the green was.

"So Pitch has a girlfriend now?" Haku questioned.

"In other words, this is why Manny wanted us to be Guardians?" I looked at my friends, who were all thinking the same thing as I was. "We're going to have to refuse the offer of becoming Guardians; however we'll gladly help out with the new threat in what other ways we can."

"Well, why not?" Jack asked, confused. "I mean, sure being a Guardian has its boring times, but at least you guys might be seen!"

"Okay, let's highlight that last part here," I said, putting up Jack's dialogue in black letters in the air. I then made the last three words glow red and the rest go away. "Might be seen. There's the catch. Might! Here's the issue at hand: Pitch and some unknown creep are trying to do whatever they're planning and out of all of the miserable life forms, Manny had to pick a human detective- who, mind you, already has a lot on her plate-, a Valentine reject who can barely even go places without getting stuck, an oracle- dude, oracles haven't been seen by humans for centuries!

"And that's not even the worst part! Granted, Haku's attitude isn't very kid- friendly, Alice is too alert because of her job, and Nakita might end up making a kid cry." I ignored the glares I received from Haku and Nakita, but Alice just shrugged in agreement. "But the only reason why I'll be okay for the job now is because I have a believer, but if Alice becomes a Guardian too, well then she's not going to count anymore! And even if wasn't chosen, she's twenty- two years old! She's not going to be able to see us for very long! If I have no believers as a Guardian, we're all screwed and Pitch and his creeper friend can do whatever the hell they want!"

"So, what are ya some sort of prized possession or somethin'?" Bunny asked, clearly irritated by how arrogant I apparently sounded.

"Well, you make me sound like that, but let me put it this way: I'm a spirit of creation and imagination. Things like music and dancing are a huge part of that. I've only got Alice as a believer, but as I said before, if she stops seeing us or she becomes a Guardian along with me, then I'm gone. And if I'm gone, you guys are weaker! There are songs with everybody, and I do mean everybody! Every spirit out there has a song somehow related to them!

"For Tooth, Owl City was nice enough to create a song called Dental Care just because they're so random! And think of the Christmas songs! Even Jack's mentioned in one of them. And don't you guys remember that old song for Sandy? I'd go on, but you get my point, don't you? Sure, it would weaken Pitch and his friend too, but out of all of the Guardians, Haku and North will really be down on their luck! They've got the most songs out of anyone here! Not all of the songs are direct, but it's all about the same thing: Christmas and love!"

Guys, remember that I'm always lying about me only having one believer, but also remember that Alice's belief will run out and so will either Cleo's sanity or life. I know that Sandy knows about who she is, but not who her associates are… unless she dreams about me. I never stick around long enough for Sandy to come over and give dreams, so I don't know.

But then I feel my face becoming grimmer than before. "But even if I had more believers, there's a second reason. I know that Sandy knows this, but I guess it's about time that all of the Guardians get to know me a little more, for worse." I then shoot a shadow from my hand to retrieve the katana on the ground, and when it came back, the katana's shape changed into a huge scythe with a black handle and blade, though the edges had purple and red.

The surprised looks from Bunny, Tooth and North were almost amusing. Jack's however, was almost heartbreaking. But he should have learned by now that every rose has thorns, and they can make you bleed.

"Wanna know a secret? I'm just like Pitch." I felt my voice wave slightly. "It actually makes me wonder if we were related in a different life that I barely remember before this one. Oh, Jack, do you remember after you crashed into my ballroom and I had Nakita take you to my tea room? And how I came over just minutes later? Did you wonder what I was doing, or if you figured that I was fixing my roof, did you wonder how many Cheshires it took to fix it? Well, I fixed it myself. And this is how. The shadows help me just like they help Pitch. I don't know if I was taken over by a Nightmare just like he was, but I know that we're connected somehow.

"I've had two theories come up in my mind about it. One of them is that maybe he's that lost twin brother I have, but then that would make me way older than I really am! My latest human memory is when I was still living in Ireland before the settlers were moving to what is now America. He was human around the Trojan War, I think. I'm not quite positive, but I'm close. Another is that maybe I'm a descendant of him. Trust me, I am not kidding when I say that I actually believe that one." Before I could rant some more I paused. I'm telling too much again!

Ugh, I think my heart's controlling my mind, I thought, sighing. "Well, I'd love to stay and rant some more about the matter, but I have better things to do. I can't list them off of the top of my head, but it's true. It's been great. I'll collect my key some other time, Jack." And with that I spread my wings and flew out of the window where Manny shone and disappeared into the sky, my hair black flames again.

Haku POV

After I watched Ebony leave, I thought about everything that she said, and the look she had when she stopped talking right after she told her theories. I then remembered that she had about as much of a hard time with her past and present as I do, I tried to keep my usual warrior face on, but I could feel it faltering. We may not know about each other's pasts yet, but I could understand her. Maybe that's why we get along so well. We both know what it's like to have such a terrible past time.

"Well, I guess I have to be off." My voice almost cracked. "I have to meet up with Aphrodite. I'm assuming that you'll be seeing me later. Do you want me to drop you off at your place, Alice?"

"No, I'll go back with Nakita." She replied, obviously realizing my discomfort. I guess she knows me better than I thought if she knows that I despise crying with people around.

"Okay. I'll see you all later! Say hi to your eggs for me, Fluffy!" Before Bunny could shout at me again, I tapped my food, causing me to drop from the floor, where I knew that once the hole closed there would be a weed there instead of a pretty flower like Bunny does.

By the time I had reached my little cave, tears were starting to roll down my face as I recalled the horrible memories I had because of my past self. The self who was selfish, ruthless, jealousy- filled, crude, corrupted and completely demanding. The self who made a paradise for herself, but was then cut down by a foolish order that shouldn't have been made.

The self who sent a servant to kill a girl from his childhood for a prince that I thought I loved, but it turned out that I loved the servant, and he loved me back. But fate was cruel to me. Though I guess I can forgive it, considering how cruel I was to everyone around me when I ruled my part of the world.

I can't remember what it's called anymore, but my country was savage and ruthless, like my soul. There's a series of Japanese songs that almost gets my story right. I began to sing the second song, tears still pouring from my eyes:

"There was once upon a time in another place

An evil kingdom who no person dared to face

And the ruler was a girl so mean

A tiny little princess of only age fourteen!"

So, my otakus out there, can you guess the song? If you can't, well obviously you don't listen to Vocaloid. It's called "Daughter of Evil," or, for those of you who like to say the title in Japanese, Aku no Mesume. Actually, the kanji, which is a writing style in Japanese, is on my right arm. The other arm has the same title, but in Latin. I can thank the Woman in the Sun for that.

She and I have had a grudge ever since I was resurrected. I think that she's exactly what I would have been if I had kept my role as queen and I stayed human at age 30: even worse than I was before I was kicked out of my throne when I was fourteen.

As the songs go, I was very close to a strange boy who looked like me. However, he wasn't my brother. It was one of those creepy coincidences where somebody who you don't know and aren't related to looks exactly like you. We used to play a lot together in the courtyard of my castle until they finally just took him away.

That was when I was six. When I turned twelve, both of my parents were dead, leaving me the ruler of the country. He showed up the day I became queen, but as my servant. Ever since that day, he's protected me from things like the next- in- lines, who once tried to kill me. Luckily, Charlie- that was his name- was spying on them and reported it to me, who had a few soldiers retrieve them and had them beheaded.

But what ruined my life and heart was the day when I found out that the prince from another place that I had a crush on was dating another girl. It was understandable because she was so beautiful and kind. However, I sent Charlie and my army to attack the other country where the girl lived. Charlie killed the girl himself, and it turned out that she was a childhood friend of Charlie, back before he came back to my castle to become my servant.

That was my downfall.

Just a day after the country that the girl lived in was almost destroyed, another army was sent in, and with the civilians of my country, they plowed through my army. When they reached my castle, they thought they had captured me.

They were wrong.

I looked out the window, watching as my army was being massacred by the other army and my civilians. Suddenly, I was pulled from the window. It was just Charlie.

"Clarisse," he said my name with his warm voice and smile. "Trade clothes with me and get out of here. Go to the harbor."

"What will happen to you?" I croaked, my eyes already watering because I already knew what would happen.

He wiped my eyes and laughed lightly. "It'll be alright. We look too much alike. They'll never tell the difference."

So we traded clothes. He let his hair down. Charlie is now the queen and I am the fugitive.

"I love you, Clarie." After he said this, he kissed my forehead and walked away, to where the soldiers were coming.

I just ran out of the castle. I couldn't respond. Not just because I didn't have enough time, but because if I did then he'd hate me even more than he should have.

The truth I had only just realized: I felt the same. I allowed my foolish selfishness to cloud my mind for all these years. But now it was too late.

The next day, it was almost three. I pushed through the crowd, rushing to the guillotine, where Charlie was. I had just got to him when his head was in the hole. I looked up at him and managed to give a halfhearted smile.

He smiled back and replied with a line I often found myself saying: "Oh, it's snack time." Then the church bells chimed. The red- haired warrior let go of the rope supporting the blade.

Then it was over.

"Evil flowers,

Steadily bloom.

With an array of colorful doom.

Now the people speak of her without a second thought,

That daughter of evil had received what she sought."

The tears became waterfalls, as they had when I first listened to the entire Evil Saga. I started tearing up by "Servant of Evil," got like I am now during "The Wooden Girl- Thousand Year Wieglenied," and by "Kept Waiting for a Response" I couldn't take it anymore. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even breathe. I hadn't cried that hard since I met Nakita two days after I was resurrected. Even though my eyes almost fell out from all of the tears, it's one of my favorite memories.

I snapped out of my memories when I heard a soft sound coming from the doorway. I turned to see Ebony, a tired smile on her grim face.

"Well, darn, I was hoping to sneak up on you." She joked, but I could tell that she was very much upset like I was.

"You did, did you?" I could hear my voice crack.

"I can see you're down. Can I join the gloom party?"

"Besides me, you're the only one here."

"Don't you remember that one song 'Party for Two?'"

I laughed. "Good song." But then I frowned. "So what happened to you back there? I didn't even know you were missing a brother!"

She cringed. "Neither did anyone else but Cleo."

I was about to ask who she was, but then I had a feeling that it wouldn't fill in enough gaps. "You tell me your story, I'll tell mine?"

She nodded. "I'll go first."

* * *

**Hey! thanks for reading my story! I know I've made a crap load of changes to the entire story, but that's just because I realized that I couldn't fit any Avengers- related things in, so I just decided to drop the Avengers idea, but not the story. I didn't drop Alice's last name either, mainly because I don't want to, but also because it just sounds right. I would love it if you guys reviewed my story so I know what I should work on, and stuff like that. I'll be updating! Maybe I'll actually finish this story by the end of the year!**


	5. Explanations and the Impossible

Alice POV

I rushed to the Burgess Police Department as fast I could after I received the call from Chief Beatty. He told me that they found two guys by the crime scene, unconscious. They were alive, the only injury found was a bump on the head, but their clothes were covered in blood. Their clothes were being analyzed as she walked through the doors, demanding to know where they were.

"It's about time I get to interrogate someone," I said, pushing all of what happened earlier out of my head. I was handed a cup of Starbucks coffee. "Oh, thanks! I could use free coffee! So who am I interrogating?" When I looked through the "window" that revealed one of the suspects, I almost dropped my coffee. "Wow, that kid is good at cosplaying! How did he manage to get those stripes in so straight?"

The kid I'm talking about was cosplaying as Death the Kid from one of my favorite anime shows, Soul Eater. Trust me, I almost thought that the real Kid was in there! The guy had three perfect white stripes in black hair, amazing gold eyes, and I'm pretty sure that the suit that the guy had was exactly like the suit that Kid wears. He even got the rings right!

He was also pretty awesome at playing the part, because the shirt that he wore now had BPD (Burgess Police Department) on it, and he was fussing about the letters not being symmetrical.

"Yup. He's a pro." I took a sip of my coffee.

"Cosplaying?" My current allies looked at me oddly.

"What? Don't any of you have teenagers that actually talk to you about this kind of thing?" Seeing their blank expressions, I just gave a sigh. "Well, cosplaying is basically dressing up as a character from an anime show or something like that. Hang on, I'll show you an example of this…" I dug in my bag until I found it: my copy of Soul Eater volume 3.

I actually keep a lot of manga in my bag for if there's nothing to do when I go somewhere. Yes, that does, in fact, include work. What can I say? I'm a bookworm otaku!

I showed the cover of the book to everyone. "Was he wearing this suit when you found him?" Everyone nodded. "I call this extreme cosplaying. Why? Because he's got every single detail spot- on, and that's the same with behavior. Death the Kid, who this person is cosplaying as, is basically OCD. His obsession: symmetry. See how he's fussing over the shirt? Oh, boy." I then saw the BPD's science monkey (I only call him that because I don't remember what his job is called) Dr. Todd come in the room with a syringe. He was going to take blood from the cosplayer so he can run some tests to see if the blood on his clothes was his or not.

Shooing everyone out of the room, I observed what would happen as I turned off the cameras and wire taps. When Todd explained to "Kid" what he was going to do, the little guy just freaked out. He was shouting and he was about to flip the table when the poor doctor left the room. No, I lied. He didn't just leave. He freaking ran for his life! I clapped my hands to solute the amazingness of the kid who is seriously going this far to be like my favorite character in that awesome anime.

But then I froze and almost stopped breathing when I saw him lift up his hands and make the mirror (you have to remember, this is those kinds of mirror/ window things you see on those mystery shows like NCIS) that he saw change. The mirror was now like a TV that was on that one channel that just shows the grey screen because there's nothing there.

He kid shouted in frustration, and I realized how much he sounded like the dubbed version of Death the Kid. But then it dawned on me…

It is Death the Kid!

I instantly stood up and walked out of the room, only pausing to retrieve my coffee. I decided that it's about time I went to go see the other supposed suspect.

Maybe it's Crona or Spirit, I thought. Or Stein. That would be pretty hellish. Then again, they would have fought back against the police. Unless this guy's actually from this universe!

Gulping down the last drop of coffee in the cup, I walked in the door… and dropped the cup. It wasn't a Soul Eater character. Actually, it was my favorite character in an anime I find equal to Soul Eater in awesomeness. Let's see if his description is familiar to you.

He was a fairly tall guy, like maybe a little bit shorter than Bunny (I know, get the earlier mess out of your mind! But it's true), he had blonde hair and warm brown eyes. He couldn't have been much older than I am. He was also wearing clothes borrowed to him from the BPD. He just kept glaring at the table, like it was the table's fault that he was about to be in interrogation.

"Can I borrow him for a bit," I asked the Chief, picking up my cup. "Bring him to the other interrogation room with the Death the Kid cosplayer? I don't want to interrogate them separately."

"Sure, I guess," he replied in a confused manner. "Want me to bring him there?"

"No, I'll be okay." I then almost jogged over to where the guy who looked like a certain temperamental collections agent I know. I carefully opened the door, as to not startle Shizuo and make him flip the table over or something. "Hey. I'm Detective Stark. Could you follow me?" He nodded and pushed the table away from him so he could get out. I almost laughed because it was so abnormal, yet expected. I hang out with Haku, after all!

Leading him to the other interrogation room, I thought about what to say to them. Should I ask them who they are and how they got there? It seems like a good start, but then what? Start fangirling about how they're my favorite characters in the anime and manga that they're from? Hell no!

I guess that I'm going to have to make my plan up as I go.

When I opened the door, Death the Kid decided to get up.

"Sit down, please." I instructed gently. He did so, and I directed Shizuo to an extra chair in the corner of the room. He pulled it to the table and sat down while I did the same thing. "Thank you." I looked at Kid. "I turned the cameras and wire taps off earlier. Your interesting power thing wasn't recorded."

He went a little pale. "You saw that?"

"Yeah. I've seen stranger, though. Today is probably the weirdest day I've ever had." I pulled out the copy of Soul Eater and one of my Durarara volumes from my bag and tossed them on the table. "It must not be a walk in the part for you guys, either."

They both flipped through the books, their faces clearly showing shock and confusion.

"What is this (please enter swear word here)?" Shizuo asked, his gruff voice sounding angry.

"Well, I guess you guys must have teleported here somehow. But in this world you guys are anime characters." I paused a few seconds to let it sink in for the poor guys. "I know, it's confusing for you. One minute you're hunting Kishin souls-" I nodded my head at Kid- "Or trying to beat the crap out of Izaya. The next, you wake up at the Burgess Police Department, which is so far away from home. I wish I could help with that. I really do. But for now, let's stick with the topic at hand."

"Do you mean like how my shirt is completely asymmetrical?" Kid asked with clear irritation.

"No, but nice guess. You guys were found passed out at a crime scene."

"What happened?" Shizuo pried.

"Well, somebody was murdered." I said bluntly.

Kid looked at me wide- eyed. "And you think that we did it?"

"I really don't because I highly doubt that you guys actually know what Vocaloid is. I don't know if I can say the same thing about my current coworkers. When someone is found with blood that isn't theirs by a crime scene, it's pretty suspicious."

My favorite science monkey then burst through the door with a worn out grin on his face. "Great news! The cosplayers are free to go! The blood wasn't even human! It's the blood of-"

I cut him off by saying "Todd, I don't really care what blood was on their clothes. Are there any other signs of them not being the killers?"

"Well, it wasn't their fingerprints on the scissors."

"Do you know whose they were?"

"It's running in the lab now."

"Good. Now off with you!" I smiled and swatted the air with my hand. He just walked out of the room. I turned to the two sitting with me. "I'll bring you two out shopping. I don't have any guy clothes, and I don't think you want to be wearing the same thing over and over again." I could tell I had a disgusted expression when I mentioned the last part.

"What are you talking about?" Kid questioned.

"You're going to have to stay with me for a while. At least until we can figure out how you can get back to your worlds."

"You'd really let the strongest man in Ikebukuro stay at your house?"

"Well, right now it's an apartment, but I'm thinking of permanently staying here. It's all a matter of fate for now. The place has one room. I can sleep on the floor somewhere; you two can decide who gets the bed and who gets the couch. But we shouldn't really focus all of our time on that. Let's head to the store. There might be something you like."

* * *

Ebony POV

I explained everything I didn't even know that I knew until my rant back at the North Pole (which is apparently supposed to be called Santoff Claussen, but I'm just going with what the humans call it).

However, it really wasn't much. Apparently in a past life, I had a twin brother. He was like a genderbent version of me.

We both had dark black hair (mine was still short and his was the same length, though I put a bow in my hair and wore a dress), and our eyes were grey instead of purple like mine are now. The reason why I'm so skilled creative things is because we were living in a tiny, unheard of village in Ireland that was filled with different kinds of artists- singing, painting, drawing- that kind of thing. Though, there were a few sorcerers, witches and warlocks. Plus a few elves (not the kind North has, but still shorter than average people, and they still had pointed ears). Apparently we were one of the magical folks.

In the first memory, my twin and I were fooling around, playing. In the other I was explaining what it's like to be happy to a girl with a blank face…

Her golden blonde hair was messy, which was tied on one side of her face and in the back, with her elf ears peeking out of her hair, as usual. Her forest green eyes looked at me blankly.

"… Do you quite understand, Leeran?"

She just kept the blank look, which indicated that she didn't understand at all. She didn't understand anything, really. But that's alright. She's the…

And that's where the memory stops. The thought that was unfinished. The understanding that left. The lives left behind.

"It's so strange," I almost whispered to Haku. "I can't help but wonder who this Leeran girl was, if she's still alive, and where my brother is. Does he still have his personality? Does he look like me anymore? Now that I think about it, is he even alive? Then how did I become what I am now?"

Haku gave a fake scream. "Too many questions that nobody knows the answer to! Get it away!" She pretended to shun me, and we both started laughing.

But then our laughter died down. Haku has to explain her story. And she explained it up to the guillotine part because that's as far as she's been able to remember. Her story actually explains why she looks so sad whenever I make an Evil Saga reference. I'll have to make a note to keep my mouth shut about it.

"In a twisted sense, you actually went from rags to riches," I pointed out.

"What do you mean?" She asked with a surprised face.

"You went from being such a high- class prick to being the amazing rebel I've come to know. I think this is how you would have turned out if Charlie hadn't been taken away from you that first time!"

She then just gave a tired smile. "You're an interesting person, you know that?"

We spent the next two hours just talking about random things, almost as if our stories had never been spoken.

* * *

**I know, Kid and Shizuo seem different... but I'm working on it, okay? and don't worry, Nakita will speak soon!**

**by the way, I'll be putting pics of my drawings of my characters so you can imagine what they look like, okay? and this story will also appear on Quizilla, which is also where I'm putting the drawings.**

**review please!**


	6. Meet the Bad Guys

Nakita POV

I stood on a building in Burgess, just watching the activity. Well, with the help of my round glasses, which I look like Harry Potter with. Without them, I'm blind. Literally. The only reason I can see without them is because I'm using someone else's eyes to see. Pretty helpful if there's somebody watching me because then I can attack them before I get ambushed. Let me tell you some words of advice...

Clairvoyance is truly blind.

It's actually pretty true. I don't remember a thing from my human life, if I had one. But I do remember somebody telling me right before I woke up hundreds of years ago that I will never see the light of day or the dark of night again. Well, they lied. I figured out my awesome sight powers, and after about three hundred years of me being a spirit, I met Aphrodite, the only remaining Greek goddess. She had grown kinder than what she used to be (I know almost every Greek myth for some odd reason).

She's now the Cupid, which is the leader of the Valentines, aka the ones who make humans fall in love.

To be honest, the best thing that ever happened to me as a spirit was meeting Haku Valentine.

While every other Valentine had blonde hair and blue eyes, she stuck out like a sore thumb with her white hair and rabbit ears and red eyes (and always has). Most others don't have tattoos, either. I guess that's why Aphrodite was the only person in the Valentine Kingdom who really accepted her. Unfortunately, being the Cupid, she's mostly busy with human affections, so she doesn't have much time to spare most times.

I guess the reason why I was drawn to her was because we both don't really fit in anywhere. We're basically alone in the world. She must have felt the same way, because when we really first met, I found her sitting by a river.

_ Through a random bug passing by, I saw that she was staring at her reflection with a despairing look on her face. I could tell that she was holding back tears._

The Valentines must have hit her hard today,_ I thought, feeling guilty that I didn't talk to her earlier._ They_ do_ like to taunt her.

_ So I wouldn't feel more guilty about myself, I decided to speak. "Haku?"_

_ She gasped, obviously startled by my sudden presence. "Oh, hello..." She thought for a second. "Nakita, isn't it?" I nodded. "Good. These names are hard to remember. I have to try and separate the names from my past and now, which gets pretty frustrating, considering the fact that I knew so many people then and have to know now." She gave a laugh, but I knew that it was fake._

_ "Is that the problem here?" I asked._

_ "Is what the problem?"_

_ "Your past."_

_ "No, I was just thinking."_

_ "Don't lie to me. Your face was too despondent to just be thinking."_

_ There was a silence. Then she tackled me in a hug. She was cringing, her head against my chest._

_ "Did those jerks mention something especially bad about your past?" She nodded. "Forget about them. I don't want to know how they know about your past, but no matter what you might have done wrong, this life is different than that one. Manny brought you to life so you can have a second chance!" My dress was starting to get wet. "Do you wanna know a secret of mine?" She nodded slightly. "I can't see without help."_

_ I could feel her head move to look up at me. "What do you mean?"_

_ "I'm supposed to be blind. However, I can use someone else's eyes to see things. It can be anything. A bug was flying by when I saw how you were looking into the water. I guess my blindness is supposed to be some sort of curse. However, Aphrodite made it a little better. It went from forever blind to something ridiculous."_

_ "What, did she change it to that really corny 'true love's first kiss' thing?"_

_ "Actually, the sad thing is... that is exactly what she changed it to." Haku burst out laughing. "But hey, she's the goddess of love. She couldn't make it go away completely, but she found a loophole to climb through eventually."_  
_ "So why do you think she couldn't give you your sight back?"_

_ "I guess her powers are more limited since the Romans took over Greece. I don't know how she's the only goddess that made it. I would have expected Athena or Artemis, maybe even Hestia! But Aphrodite? I think that maybe Hephaestus finally won her over by saving her, but it was too late."_

_ "So we have more in common than I thought?" I was taken aback by that question._

_ "What are you talking about?"_

_ And that's when I was told the Story of Haku (technically, it would be the Story of Clarisse, but Haku is what her name is now)._

_ When she was done, I just said, "I find it hard to believe that you were that person."_

_ "I'm sorry I'm alive," I heard her whisper. "I wish it was me on that guillotine, and not just a scapegoat."_

_ "Don't say that!" She jumped at my sudden response. "My apologies. For what it's worth, even though this is the first time we've actually talked, you're the most wonderful person I've met." When I said that, I felt her flinch. But she then stained my dress with more tears, which I didn't mind at all._

_ Ever since then, we've been inseparable. It's almost always where she goes, I go. Even if everyone laughs and despises her, I will always protect her, so as long as I know that she smiles and sings and dances like the way her spirit does, I'll be okay._

I snapped myself out of my memories and thoughts as I saw how the Sandman was sending his dreams out to the children of the world. With sights like Sandy's dreams floating around, I always make sure to thank Benjamin Franklin for inventing glasses. Without him, how would have I gotten the brilliant idea to enchant a pair of glasses (with some help) so I can see with them.

I suddenly noticed a black mass going towards Sandy. Wasting no time, I pulled out my bow and shot the mass with an arrow. It glowed a strange light blue and disappeared. Sandy looked at me and gave me a thumbs up, which I suppose means "thanks." I just nodded and jumped from the building I was on to the one next to it, shooting the black masses (which are in the shape of horses) with my bow when they're far and just stabbing them with an arrow if they get too close. They all glowed a strange blue light before disappearing, which is odd. Normally they would just be hit right there.

Maybe it's just because I've never fought nightmares before, I decided, continuing my battle. I guess that if I meet Pitch I'll use my solid arrows instead of my paranormals.

Just so we're clear, my solid arrows are for things that regular humans or adults can see. Though it can cause damage to a spirit, I normally use my paranormal arrows because it's more effective. They're for things that can't be seen by regular humans or adults, like me for example. Though, they don't hurt me. I am the creator of the arrows, after all.

I took cover in an alley, where I pulled my communicator from my pocket and sent a message to the Guardians (besides Sandy, since he already knows what's going on) and my friends, telling them to get over here because of Pitch. Where he's coming, his little friend shouldn't be far behind.

* * *

? POV

I silently followed Pitch's nightmares. He would be coming soon, along with Mad. Watching the world around me, I noticed how well the Sandman fought against the nightmares. I would have gasped at the beauty of Sandman's sand... at least, if I had my heart.

* * *

Haku POV

Eating a bowl of ice cream, I heard my communicator go off with Nakita's ringtone. I seized it on the coffee table at once; Nakita wouldn't contact me with the communicator unless there was something wrong.

* * *

Ebony POV

I had just left Cleo again when my communicator went off. It was Nakita.

Sandy and I need help in Burgess! Pitch's nightmares are here!

I immediately flew over to Burgess, where I saw black sand in the shape of horses, gold sand attacking the black sand, and arrows that hit said colored sand with a blue light. Tooth, North, and Bunny had just shown up, and Jack flew next to me.

"I guess it's showtime, Jack." I smirked, my scythe appearing in my hand.

More chaos began. I sliced nightmares to pieces and shreds, only to have them disappear. When I looked to my right, I saw the ultimate boss to win at the moment: Pitch Black. He was just commanding some nightmares to go attack Guardians when he spotted me in the air. I suppose he figured that I was fighting along with the Guardians, because he sent some nightmares my way, too. I just dashed right to them, continuing my slicing. When I had actually reached Pitch, he pulled a black scythe of his own.

"Nice taste," I commented as our blades connected. "For an old guy."

"Save your blabbering for when you're defeated, girl!" He snapped back.

"Well, I'm not sure I'll be defeated by you. And by the way, it's not 'girl.' it's Ebony. Engrave it on your mind, because it's the name being called when you're begging for mercy."

Before he could return a retort, ice randomly sprang out of nowhere, causing both me and Pitch to spring backwards.

"Hit the grey guy, not the girl who can melt you!" I shouted at Jack. He just ignored me and fought Pitch himself. I rolled my eyes and attacked more nightmares.

* * *

Haku POV

I holed right next to the chaos that was happening, but I was stuck again. Same spot as last time. When I saw a nightmare, gallop towards me, I saw this as an opportunity. I grabbed one of its legs when it went over me, causing me to be ripped right out of the ground. I pulled out my katana and slashed the thing.

"'Bout time ya got here, shiela!" I heard the Australian mutant rabbit shout as I ran into the fight.

"Less chat, more fight, fluffy!" I replied, fighting more nightmares. Suddenly, there were green snakes along with the horses, and they disappeared the same way as a nightmare does. "Looks like the girlfriend's here!" I remarked cockily.

However, I just fell to my knees when I saw who was commanding the snakes. Out of all of the people to come back and fight with Pitch, it had to be the kind, sweet... Charlie.

I was suddenly numb to everything around me. Except for him. His hair was now a green to match his new minions. His eyes were stormy grey. Otherwise, he still looked like me. In that strange sense, he didn't change.

I only half snapped out of it when I realized that Bunny was shaking me, shouting, though I couldn't even register what he was saying. I could slowly feel myself passing out, everything going black. Before my consciousness was completely lost, I could feel something soft.

* * *

Nakita POV

I saw Haku pass out, but luckily Bunny was there with her and picked her up. I ran right over there.

"Is she okay?" I asked, the worry clearly showing in my voice.

"I dunno," Bunny replied.

"Just bring her to the Pole!" He nodded and tapped the ground beneath him. He disappeared along with Haku in the hole that opened to let them in, then closed and left a flower.

I leaped on a car, then on a lamp post, then onto a building so I could have a look at what was going on. I then noticed that a guy with green hair was commanding the army of green snakes. But I also noticed the reason why Haku blanked out so suddenly. The guy had a like face to her. Just like Charlie did.

I can't dwell on that at the moment. Alice had just shown up and was using her ninja skills (I don't care if she's not an actual ninja, she kicks butt like one) and firing a gun at nightmares and the snakes. But she's only human. I have to protect her!

I then saw a car being thrown at a nightmare right next to me. I turned to see a blonde guy. Who Alice was now yelling at, along with a kid next to the guy with Death the Kid hair.

* * *

Alice POV

"What are you doing here?" I hollered at Shizuo and Kid- or Shane and Kyle, as they will be called in public. "I specifically told you to stay in the apartment!"

"What are these things?" Kid asked, trying to change the subject.

"The black horses are nightmares and I do not know what the green snake are. Well, since you're here Kid," I handed him the gun I was currently using and another from my other holster. "Fire only at the horses and snakes. If you see a guy with green hair or some guy with grey skin, shoot them as well."

"So what's going on here?" Shizuo asked. "And why do we have to attack them?"

"I promise that all will be explained later, but right now just attack! And try not to break the place!"

I turned around and was met by a floating machine gun. It was black and had a random rainbow swirling around it. Ebony knows me so well. I grabbed it and fired it like crazy.

* * *

Ebony POV

When I saw Alice with the two guys, I decided to ask her later. As for the moment, I created a machine gun for her which can't run out of bullets. It was probably the best thing I've ever created with my creation power.

Slicing and watching the nightmares disappear, I looked to my right and saw a familiar face. She looked the same as she did in the memory. I felt myself freeze when I realized who it was. Leeran's still blank green eyes were staring into my purple ones. She then just turned away, disappearing.

I sensed something race towards me at my side. I looked and saw a nightmare. Before I could even move, the thing didn't hesitate to bite the arm that was holding the scythe. I ignored the pain and killed it. I heard Jack call my name and blast ice at me. I ducked and a snake was eliminated. I gave him a thumbs up, but then I flinched, realizing the bite was making some blood gush through it.

Jack flew towards me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! It'll heal right up! I'm pretty sure I've been hurt worse." I looked longingly at where Leeran was standing.

Instead of Leeran there was now a girl with pink hair with orange tips and a cool grey eye (her hair was covering her left eye), which had black around it. Her eye almost matched her skin, which was grey like Pitch's, but just slightly darker.

I watched as she floated up, blocking my view of Manny, and cast a spell, making her hands glow orange. She then brought both of her hands out and the orange light was bathed everywhere. It scared Pitch and his nightmares away, causing the mysterious partner of his and his army to retreat as well. I could have sworn that among the nightmares that familiar blonde head was among them...

The girl floated down to the ground, and Jack and I did the same.

"Glad they're gone," the girl said in a British accent. "I don't need them making a wreck of the place!"  
"So who are you?" I asked, separating myself from her.

"Why, she's Hallow Eve," Nakita said behind me. "She's another spirit of fear, but she uses her power over it differently. So how are you, Hallow? You've been gone for four hundred years!"

"Well, I haven't really been up to much as of recently. I did just help you guys out a bit, so that was exciting."

"Thanks for helping, Hallow!" North boomed, only now walking up. But then he put on a semi- serious face. "Vere have you been?"

"Well, I've been sleeping. I guess I must have made some random enemy, because I just randomly passed out in 1710 and I wake up exactly four hundred years later. I don't recall there being such thing as sleep tablets back then. But after I woke up, I was hanging out with Manny and Sunny. Well, mostly Manny. Sunny's place is nice, but it could use some cold air. What, is there something on my face?" She asked a random guy with Death the Kid hair. He was staring at her with irritation and his eye was twitching.

"Asymmetrical." He growled. While everyone else had a poker face, I couldn't help but think, Now, why does that voice sound familiar?

"Excuse me?"

"You're asymmetrical!" He walked right up to her. They were around the same height, which is only slightly taller than I am.

"I guess I am, OCD guy. But it really wouldn't make much of a difference if I fixed my hair. I have an eyepatch, and I prefer to keep it on, thank you. So really, you're not going to like me."

"Which reminds me," I turned to Alice. "Who's the guy who threw that car and the OCD kid with Death the Kid hair?"

She hesitated. "Ebony, the OCD kid is Death the Kid. This guy," she gestured to the really tall blonde guy, "and this is Shizuo Heiwajima. This is going to have to be a private discussion for later."

"Yes, it will!" I was completely confused. "But for now, let's just head to the Pole. We're going to have to talk about what we're going to do about the bad guys."

* * *

**Wow! two chapters done already in about a day! okay, so it's 1:45 am right now, but OH WELL! but now I'm seriously tired, therefore Sandy's gonna come and give me a dream. or maybe Pitch will bring a nightmare. who knows? **

**P.S. I know before the green things were lions, but I HAD to change it. I wrote it when I was super tired, and I decided that lions just don't make enough sense, so the replacements are snakes.**

**well, I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**review please! (ya, I'm probably gonna stick that at the end of every chapter... I don't know)**


	7. Secrets of Leeran N Black

Neeran POV

I wandered in the cave, being my blank self. I still wondered if I'm actually still just an artificial life form, originally born from the song of a lonely sorceress.

Do I even know what the word "lonely" _means_? No, of course I don't. Not really, anyway. I don't have my "heart." It's there, but it never beat in my first life. Well, technically, my _second_ life, since my original creator found the soul of a girl when she was singing and that soul turned into me. I'm different by far then who that soul used to be.

And that soul is probably the reason why I'm staying with Pitch. That soul who I guess I used to be… is actually his sister. I guess we have the same face, but that's really all. I once caught a glimpse of her memories. She had black hair, grey skin and gold eyes like he does. I've got gold hair, human- like skin and green eyes like he doesn't. And yet, he somehow recognized me.

It was about as strange as emotions to me when I first met him as I am. It really wasn't that long ago. Maybe a year. It was right after he attempted to rule the world with fear the first time.

_I was in the park after dark, observing the lights around me. Considering the fact that I have zero emotion, I couldn't really understand what people like about this place. Actually, I couldn't really understand what people like about anything. It's just there._

_ And the same went for the shadowy figure following me._

_ "I realize that you are following me," I deadpanned. "What is it that you want?" I turned around, and a man with black hair, grey skin and gold eyes was right behind me. _

_ When I didn't flinch, he got confused. "You've changed, Keira." He said._

_ "I don't know what you're talking about," I replied. "My name is Leeran, not Keira. You have the wrong person."_

_ "But…" His face now showed what Ebony called sadness._

_ "I assume that I look like this 'Keira' you speak of? Is that why you think I am-"_

_ I paused. If I had a heart, I would have gasped because of the few memories I suddenly received. One was a memory of a girl looking in a bay. Her long black hair barely touched the water, and her gold eyes stared into it... thoughtfully, did Ebony call it? Her grey skin was a pale grey, darker than Ebony's was. It took me a second to register the fact that the girl was me. _

_ In another, the very man who stood before me was giving nightmares to children in England, with me observing. In a third, there was a battle. It was between Fear and the first Mother Nature. Pitch wasn't paying any attention to behind him, where she snuck up on him. Right as she threw her poison spear, I threw myself in front of it, when it hit the promised target: the heart._

_ I snapped out of it and looked at Pitch. He had a hopeful look on his face. "So we are related."_

_ Pitch slightly smiled, but then frowned. "You don't seem excited about finding out about your big brother."_

_ "I have no heart. It's ironic because my second life was formed from a song hundreds of years ago. I was emotionless then as well."_

_ He was confused again. "How many lives have you had?"_

_ "This is my third. My second only lasted about two years. I appeared and disappeared in this exact form."_

_ His expression turned to shock, I believe it's called. Most likely from the fact that I'm saying this so calmly, without regret, remorse, but no happiness or forgiveness either._

_ "I was also resurrected again by the Woman in the Sun," I added. "Is this not information that you should be informed of?" _

_ He was looking at me in a way that I hadn't seen in hundreds of years. He looked at me like a beloved sister. Only Ebony gave me that look._

_ Ruffling my gold hair, he remarked, "You're a miracle, Kei- Leeran. Come. We have a world to take over."_

_ Not that I actually cared._

The whole "taking over the world thing" never really mattered to me. I never actually cared about anything. Never liked or disliked things.

Well, maybe it mattered in the first life, but not the second or third. My heart was the one thing that didn't appear in me when I was brought back to life by Ebony's song. My first memory.

I was so involved in the memory of the person who created me, I almost bumped into Mad. He turned around to look at me, his surprised face looking down at my unfeeling one.

"I almost said that you should be more careful," he said with his usual smile. "But then again, look who's talking! I'm Mad Ness, after all!"

Pitch isn't the only one with a name that's also a pun. Mad Ness is the spirit of insanity. He had teamed up with Pitch only days before I came into the picture. Mad doesn't really seem to mind me. He probably figures that as long as I'm not annoying and in the way, we'll get along just fine.

Though I suppose he gets a little frustrated that I don't laugh at his cracks, because his smiled vanished. "Still nothing, huh?" I merely nodded once. "Well, it was worth a shot. But I'm wondering just how you went from so happy to so..." He scratched the back of his head. "What's the word I'm looking for here? Oh, yeah. Blank. Granted, it would be annoying if you were so happy all the time, and you'd probably team up with those stupid Guardians and their little friends if you were, but I'm starting to wonder if it was such a good idea letting you in on this."

"You only base that on what my reactions are," I replied. "The cons you listed about if I was still Keira are exactly why you are better off with me as I am now. If I was still Keira, you two would lose the fight because the Guardians have one more person to fight with them."

"Eh, I guess that's true... but can't you at least back away slowly with a scared look when I do things?" I shook my head.

"I would if I could."

"Good point. Now, if you could excuse me, I have work to do. You just sit pretty." With that, we just walked away.

I walked up to the globe in the room. It was still glowing in places. When one would go out, it immediately lit back up. Yet another who believes. When Fear and Madness reign, those lights will go out. The globe might even be destroyed as well. Nobody knows for sure.

I then remembered what I saw when we attacked Burgess. I thought I saw Ebony on that rooftop. She looked at me with confusion. I walked away, thinking nothing of it other than the fact that to me, it was a mere illusion. A trick of the fearlings, delusions (the name of Mad's minions), and dream sand all in one place, with arrows glowing blue as they hit the fearlings and delusions. With all of that light, my eyes could have been screwing with my head, attempting to get me to react, like Mad just tried.

But as usual, it didn't work.

* * *

**Dang, I thought for sure this chapter was already posted! oh, well. **

**review please! I really wanna hear some of your ideas!**


	8. Why You Don't Give Ebony Sugar Free Stuf

Haku POV

"Ugh, what the hell happened," I groaned, opening my eyes slowly. I was on a bed in a room that was… decorated… like… Christmas.

_Dammit I'm at the North Pole!_ I immediately shot up, only to have my head hurt like hell. Suddenly, my memories came back to me. The green snakes. Charlie.

"He's back…" I only barely whispered.

"You mean Charlie, right?" I looked up to see Nakita holding a white mug with a candy cane design on it. In it was something steaming.

"Yeah. That had better be either coffee or hot chocolate." She nodded and handed me the mug.

"I even made sure to make the hot chocolate with sugar in it. Tooth is making sugar free hot chocolate. It tastes so bland."

I heard multiple crashes. "Did Ebony put a ton of sugar in hers?"

"And Jack's." You could now see soundwaves from some crashes. "Well, we know who's who with the crashes. Sort of."

I gave a sigh. "Yeah, but just wait until she shouts." But then we both put poker faces on as the soundwaves turned to shockwaves. "Should we go muffle her?"

"_Now_!" We both scrambled out of the room, falling on our faces with every shockwave that came.

When we got to the workshop… I don't think there was a happy yeti in sight. They were all yelling in frustration, and I could see the elves cowering in fear of Jack and Ebony as they bounced off walls. The globe was frozen and a few chairs were on fire.

We were just about to leap for Ebony when she got close enough to the floor, but then Sandy floated in and several exclamation points were put into the air.

"Sandy!" I ran up to him. "Just put Ebony to sleep before she shouts!" He put up a question mark. "I'll tell you when she's out, but _take her out now_!"

Sandy conjured a ball of dreams. He also made a slingshot, which he aimed at Ebony, who was sparring with Jack at this point. Luckily, Jack was just about to send a ninja kick her way when Sandy threw the ball, causing them both to drop to the floor, asleep. To be honest, Nakita and I almost squealed because of the cuteness of the scene.

Ebony was curled up next to Jack, his arm around her. I honestly thought that he was going to start drooling. What probably made the scene cuter were the dreams that were showing above their heads. There was a fox and a cat. They were playing, jumping around, singing and even playing pranks on other animals, such as a chipmunk, a rabbit and a deer.

"Ohmygodit'ssocute!" I heard Alice squeal next to me. Well, she _is_ the only otaku that I know that's human.

Of course, Ebony would squeak if it was somebody else like this… she'd probably try to beat us to a pulp if she found out about this.

"Alice! Put the camera down!" I shouted at her. She looked at me, but then she snapped a few pictures. "Hey! You know she'll have your head if she finds out about those pictures!"

"Yes," Alice whispered loudly. "But she'll also have _yours_ if you wake her up with your shouting."

"Touché." I just gave up. There is no arguing with a detective. There just isn't.

"Do you think we should put them in their rooms?" Nakita asked.

"Or maybe we should try to repair the chairs that Ebony burned," Alice pointed out. "Unless one of you wants to scrape off the ice on the globe."

"I have an idea," I said quickly, mainly because I don't want to do the jobs but also because I can't. "Why don't we have the ones who caused the disaster to clean up? Scratch that, the _one_ who caused the disaster!" I gestured that last comment to Ebony, who was now snuggling up against Jack's chest. I started to squeal, but then I clamped my hand over my mouth.

Manny, _why_ is it so freaking hard to stay mad at that kid? Every time she pisses me off, she somehow finds a way to make me not so mad anymore! Sometimes she doesn't even try, like now!

I guess it's because she's still got her innocence somewhere. She may not notice it, but I do. Even though she sometimes swears a lot, and makes jokes that people would look down upon if they heard her make them. She even wears Mary Jane shoes with that weird lace thing all the time! And how she keeps her hair short. I just noticed that she took off her makeup to reveal a young face, caught in between childhood and adulthood. Still soft, but had a few angles.

She's hardly ever seen without at least eyeshadow on… has she already begun to trust the Guardians? Well, I guess that she won't join them, but she'll at least hang out with them. I just hope that she doesn't create another concoction like that again and give it to someone. I'm just happy that it wasn't a summer spirit that she gave it to… that would have been chaotic!

"You think we should bring them to a guest room or something?" Alice asked. "We don't want poor Ebony getting cold, and she'll probably light the whole place up if she finds out about this!"

"Next time she looks through your camera she'll torch that too," I pointed out. "But then again, you can buy a new one, and I don't really want to burn alive in here, thank you." I walked over and carefully picked Ebony up bridal style.

"Oi!" I heard a certain other rabbit I know. "What happened hea'?"

"Well, Tooth made her sugar- free hot chocolate," I stated. "So Ebony here apparently put in like twenty packets of sugar in her cup, drank some of it, put about twenty packets in Jack's cup and things just got crazy. Judging by when the craziness began, I only woke up when they drank the stuff, and I actually got out of bed when the soundwaves that Ebony was making turned into freaking shockwaves! By the time I got up here, the two current psychos were sparring, and Sandy hit them both with a dream ball, so now they're asleep. I'm bringing Ebony to a guest room."

"Why don't ya just wake 'em up and have 'em clean this mess up?"

"Jack, sure. Ebony… well, it depends."

"On what?"

"What limbs you still want on your body."

He got pretty quiet. "I'll bring Frostbite to a guest room."

"That's what I thought. Nat, Alice." They stood at attention. "Could you guys be Santa's helpers and help out the yetis? It's the least we could do after what Ebony caused." They both nodded and got to work. When Bunny looked at me, I just smirked. "Hey, I'm the one dealing with the psychotic demon right now."

He looked at me with his usual stern face and remarked, "Ya look awkward holdin' her like that."

"Well, she's light. You have no idea how many times I've brought her to her room when I'm sleeping over after she falls asleep on her laptop either listening to nothing but Vocaloid or playing Slender." He looked at me oddly. "Slender is a scary video game. Pitch must have a field day with those nightmares. The scary Slender Man trying to kill you…" I let myself trail off, remembering the time when Alice first introduced us to the game.

She let us all play the game she had on her laptop, and we all nearly wet ourselves. Yes, even Alice. I concluded that it's hard to fear things anymore, which might not go well for Pitch. But that's okay, because no matter what… I will always be on higher alert than normal. This includes looking behind me every five seconds whenever I'm alone. In other words, all the time at home.

"Alright," I mumbled, kicking a guestroom door open. "After this, I'm gonna finish my hot chocolate… and then I'm going home and listening to Vocaloid until my ears explode."

When I walked out, I was met by Bunny, who was closing the door of the guestroom across from the one Ebony was in.

"What's tha' supposed to be? Some sor' a' romance series?" Apparently, he wants his ears ripped off.

"Some are romantic, _mate,_" I spat, irritated. "But not all. Some are happy and comical. Others are sad and heartbreaking. There are also some that are gory and disturbing. Like regular music, only most of it is in Japanese. Though, there are a lot of songs in English and other languages. But the Japanese ones are best. I guess I think that because when I first woke up from being human I was in Japan." I just shrugged and walked into the workshop, where the yetis were working on repairing the damage that was done. North didn't look too happy.

"Ugh, big mess to clean up," he mumbled. "And Christmas is only in two months!"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that... and all this time I thought it was September!"

"It was until yesterday, Haku," Nakita pointed out. "So your favorite holiday can come around. You know, with the candy and the people scared out of their wits." I only smirked at the statement of the most amazing holiday of the year: Halloween!

"It's so weird to have a holiday named after your title," a soft, yet sharp voice said behind us. I turned to see a face I haven't really seen in a few hundred years.

"Dementia!" I grinned. "So how has my favorite fear spirit been doing?"

"Well, now I'm happy because somebody will actually call me by my real name instead of my title. You've made my day once again, Haku." She held out her fist, and I looked at it, surprised. "What, no fist bump? I thought that's what people of this time did. It's out of date, isn't it?" She hung her head and little black clouds hovered over it, shooting lightning and raining.

I grabbed her hand and gave her a fist bump. "Dude, not _everything_ you do is outdated. It's okay; other spirits get confused with all of this 'new time' crap too. Actually a lot of it gets on my nerves."

"Oh, you mean like horror movies today?" We collectively groaned.

"Horror movies these days! They're all either gory or have torrid embraces throughout most of it! It's disgusting!"

When we both looked at Bunny's expression, we both burst out laughing. Honestly, the look on his face was utterly priceless. It was that kind of look that was confused, surprised, angry, and hilarious at the same time.

Dimencia and I chatted for a while, just hanging out and watching everyone work.

"It's so awesome when you meet up with somebody who's so much like you," I commented as we laughed while a few elves pretended to build toys.

"It's also strange," Dimencia pointed out. "Then again, Halloween's all about strange! It's also about scaring the crap out of somebody, but that's part of the fun!" But then her face became thoughtful. "Do you think that Pitch is going to use my holiday against me? Fear spirits _do_ grow stronger at that time." She grinned. "Luckily for us, it's part of my job as the Hallow Eve to keep the other fear spirits in line, especially around Halloween! I just wonder why Manny didn't give this job to Pitch in the first place, considering the fact that he was technically the first fear spirit on Earth."

"Maybe it's because he's too corrupted," Nakita added as she walked by. "While you were only created by one fearling when you were dying, Pitch was taken over by hundreds while he was perfectly healthy."

I could tell that Dimencia was surprised at first, but she just shrugged. I guess she knows better than to question what an oracle knows. It'll give you headaches.

* * *

Ebony POV

I woke up in a bed that was just as Christmasy as the rest of the room. I looked carefully at the ceiling for a mistletoe, but they were only found on the sheets keeping me warm.

"That is the last time I bring one hundred sugar packets with me to the North Pole and put half of them in my sugar- free hot chocolate," I mumbled to myself, remembering the rush I had. But the rush was turned into dreams of black cats and white foxes. I crawled out of the bed and walked out of the guestroom. I stumbled at first, but I regained my balance when I pulled out my wings. Though, it was harder. They were covered with frost and ice on some parts. I then remembered a little bit of what happened during my latest sugar rush. Actually, mine and Jack's.

_I didn't mess things up too badly, did I?_ I wondered, wandering the hallways and only now just realizing that I was wearing an old pair of baggy jeans and a black tank top, which revealed the bandages where my newest scar will be, plus a plethora of others. Some were faded and almost invisible, others were fresh or just simply lingering.

When I walked into the workshop, I facepalmed at my own failure. There were burned chairs (most of them were ash), the floor was uneven, there were echoes still going around and shaking up the elves, and the globe was covered in ice (Jack's doing, but whose fault was all of this again?). I'd go farther, but it would take too long. "Of course I screwed everything up."

_ Isn't there anything that I can get right besides music and dancing?_ I went through my collection of memories. _Well, I can play video games pretty good. But there's a reason why most of the spirits that I've actually met hate my guts._

I received a few good glares and the elves hid behind the yetis (mostly the ones who were giving the glares) and... North, who was walking towards me.

Before he could say anything I held up my hand. "Don't say it."

"Say vat?"

"I wrecked Christmas early. Or at least, almost did. This is the reason I left out on why I can't be a Guardian. I mess up everything. I took what was supposed to be just simply making hot chocolate taste better and turned it into what's almost like a warzone." I turned around and walked over to the guestroom where I was sleeping, where my bag was. I pulled out a belt with things on it like hammers, nails... building supplies. I looked over at the doorway, where North was trying to convince me to stay and smiled a little bit. "North, if you could just chill out for a second I'd like to get ready to help clean up. It's _my_ fault everything got so screwy here."

He just blinked. I laughed and walked right past him to the workshop and pulled my short hair up in a mini ponytail.

The glares returned, but I ignored them. I could hang my head about the whole mess after I finished up cleaning. Maybe I can do this right. Who knows?

Walking up to where Alice and a few yetis were cleaning up the mess that Jack and I made, pulled my hammer out of its holster. "Guys, you can stop now. I can take over from here."

Alice walked up to my and Gibbs- slapped me, not really holding back much.

"Ow!" I held the back of my head. "I didn't mess up _that_ badly! Jack did half of it!"

"Yes, but he's not awake yet, and I highly doubt that he will volunteer."

"So why don't you smack_ him_ when he gets up?"

"Because you caused everything." The fact that she said it so coldly made my heart twist slightly. I know that she would just smack me for that, but she never would have said something like that; she knows how much of a sore spot it is for me, but not why.

"Will you just get out of the workspace?" I snapped, starting to become impatient with this new Alice that was so foreign to me. "I don't want to screw up again with distractions!"

She just walked away. I turned to look at the ingredients that lay before me that created new chairs. Two were already started, which is a plus for me; less work that way. I looked at the already damaged chairs and the ashes of what they once were and determined that I had to build about five chairs. Could have been worse.

"Well, I've got a head start. This shouldn't take too long anyways." It'll take my mind off of Alice for a bit, too, I added silently.

So I got to work. I took a look at another chair that wasn't damaged so I could copy it so the chairs I make aren't irregular. Times like this make me wonder if I'm OCD. But then I remember how creativity takes focus, so my mind turns off any wonders I may be thinking of, any worries I may have, and I just focus on crafting the object in front of me.

* * *

Jack POV

"Hey North, where's the- Whoa!" I jumped when I saw the workshop. Things were either burnt or frozen, like the chairs at a few workstations were burned, or the entire globe was frozen. "So this is what happens when you have more sugar than you should."

"It's not the only thing, Jack!" Tooth shouted, rushing towards me with her butterfly wings moving rapidly. When she reached me, she gave my teeth one of her usual checks. "Do you feel your teeth decaying?"

I didn't bother trying to talk; nobody would really understand what I'm saying anyways.

"You had better brush your teeth!" She said when she took her hands out of my mouth.

When I looked at the damage being done again, I saw a quiet Ebony working on a chair. Her dark purple eyes were focused and calm, only staring at what she was crafting. I noticed how she hadn't changed out of her tank top and jeans, but she had put her black hair up and her feet were still barefooted, which I could tell could turn out badly.

Walking up to her, I was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but somebody grabbed my arm before I could.

"Not a good idea Frosty," Haku said sharply. "Distract her from her crafting and she'll melt you like a popsicle. Just leave her alone until she's done. Then you can point out the shoes."

"How'd you know-"

"I was going to point it out myself, but I don't want to. But I also don't want her to get a nail lodged in her foot. Just watch her until her concentration is broken."

"Uh… okay." She walked away and I just sat down. I noticed how there was a chair in front of her, which indicated that she was using it as a reference, but she was crafting the chairs (she started working on another one and the others were already finished) differently.

While the chairs that were at the table were decorated like Christmas like everything else here, she was gently carving hers with delicate designs with things from snow to fire. There were musical notes on one, some candy and pumpkins on another. On the one she was currently carving, there was a cat and fox...

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Ebony POV

"Did we have the same dream?" I heard Jack's voice ask from the reality I had left. When I blinked, I returned from my fantasy world, only to groan with frustration. "What's wrong?"

"I have to do them over!" I slammed my head on the chair that was currently being carved on. I looked at his concerned and confused face.

"Why?"

"Because in spite of the chair I put in front of me to model these chairs after, my mind just doesn't want to cooperate! I _want_ to carve these things, but I _have_ to carve those designs so that they match!" I then sighed and smiled. "Well, there's no way I'm going to just throw them away like trash. That's just wasting wood. So how long have you been sitting there?" His surprised face was cute, yet hilarious.

"For a few minutes, I think. Haku asked me to watch you, since you're not wearing shoes."

"I'm not?" I looked at my feet and deadpanned, "Oh, so I'm not. Oh, well. I'm not gonna get up just to waste my time getting them." I then grinned. "I hope North likes fluffy things, because I'm not throwing this one away!"

Jack and I talked while I carved. He handed me whatever tools I asked him to hand me while we talked about just random things: what makes Bunny tick, pranking, music... Fun things.

By the time I was just about to paint the chair with the fox and cat, I realized that Jack and I have more in common than I thought. We both didn't even remember our pasts until recently (my memories aren't as recent as his are, though he got his memories before I did, and mine are gradually coming in). Apparently, he's the Guardian of Fun, so his center is fun. What I do is fun to do and look at.

I also discovered that Sandy's last name is _Mansnoozie,_ not _Mcsnooze. _Wow, have I klutzed up the past years. Luckily, I never said what I thought was his last name to him!

As I was painting the chair with the pumpkins, I heard the giant rabbit shout "What do ya think you're doin'?"

I turned around to see his disapproving glare- one that I'm actually pretty familiar with, so I kept my blank face.

"Well, when I was crafting them, I realized that I was designing them different, so I just decided to just continue building and painting them." I said this like it was the most logical thing in the world. "Does this bother you, Cottontail?"

"Ya, it does ya gumby!"

"Doesn't that suck? Just like your comebacks do!" I shot back.

"Well, that comeback was pretty crappy, Fluffy." Haku said with a smirk playing on her face as she waltzed over where I was painting. "You're gonna have to work on that."

"Stay outta this, sheila!"

Haku ignored her new nickname. "It's not very nice criticizing the girl's work. Especially if you don't even live here."

"Maybe she shouldn't be decoratin' North's chairs like tha'!"

"And maybe you shouldn't be the judge of what North's chairs look like." I snapped back.

"Neitha' should you!"

"Why are you so worried about it, Fluff?" Haku then gave a grin. "Is it your-"

"Ladies, please!" Hallow Eve shouted, cutting off Haku's most likely hilarious (and slightly inappropriate) comment. "You're all pretty. Like that chair you're painting, Ebony!"

"Thanks Hallow!" I gave her a thumb up.

"Dimencia will do."

"Okay. Wait, you're still here?"

"No, she's off to Neverland!" Bunny said, rolling his eyes at me.

"Will you just go suck an egg already?" This rabbit's getting on my nerves.

"Oh, like I haven't heard tha' one before!"

"I bet you have. Are you _that_ OCD that you're gonna worry about the designs of a few chairs? I mean, come on! They are awesome! Maybe not Christmasy, but still epic! Would it make you feel better if I made you an Easter one?"

"No, it _won't_!"

"Then shoo." I waved my arms, pretending as if he's a fly. "I'm trying to work. Actually, can you all go away for a little while? I kinda want to stay focused on this without any distractions." Haku and _Dimencia_ nodded and walked away. Bunny grunted and went to go find someone else to nag. Jack, however, stayed sitting in the same spot. "Jack, you know that also means you, right?"

"Can I _please _stay?" Jack begged. "I just want to watch. I promise I'll try not to bother you! _Please?_" I looked at him. Manny, why does he have to look at me with those pretty eyes like that?

I lost this round. "Fine. Only bother me if it's absolutely necessary, like if the place just exploded or Pitch shows up. Got it?" He nodded. I turned back to the chair I was painting and got back to work, humming the tune to Matryoshka (the Vocaloid version).

I let the fantasy world of mine reclaimed me for a little while, at least until I finished my painting. It didn't really take long for me to finish, though that may be just because normally time seems to go faster when I'm working on projects like this.

Honestly, Bunny can go get stuck in one of his holes if he's just going to criticize me for designing chairs _my_ way. He's probably just mad because he's heard of me from a few spirits who I accidentally messed up. Most of it wasn't even from a sugar rush, either! The accidents were from either my fury or me having just a little too much fun with my soundwaves or shadows on their turf. Or it's just simply I tripped over the wrong thing.

There's another thing that Jack and I have in common: we both screw up almost everything we just so happen to run into: Jack created a huge blizzard Easter of 68' and I caused a small fire over in the fall spirit's turf back in 37'… But it was _not my fault!_ Maybe if Treesa hadn't ticked me off by insulting my Cheshires, it wouldn't have happened!

Either way, there's always something that people hate about me. Not like I actually care, though. I'll start worrying about them if they decide to mess with me. They probably will, though. Hopefully it doesn't end up like the Evil Saga… I like my head on my shoulders, not rolling on the ground.

After finishing the chair, I whipped my forehead with my arm, admiring my work. If Dimencia liked it when it wasn't done being painted, then she'll for sure like it now!

"When we're done getting the ice off the globe, wanna go hand out?" I asked Jack, who now looked surprised.

He blinked. "I thought we had to help out with cleaning the place up."

"We didn't make _that_ much of a wreck! If we were knocked out later, then it would take everyone hours to clean up!"

"I guess…"

"Plus, aren't you the Guardian of Fun? Where did the infamous Jack Frost go? The mischievous trouble making winter spirit, making places snow for hundreds of years?"

"Right here, ma'am!" He exclaimed, pointing at himself. He's obviously hyped up now.

"Exactly. Now let me just melt the ice off the globe, then we can ditch."

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**Yes, I noticed my mistake in Sandy's last name in the second chapter, but I was too lazy to edit it, so I just did... well, what I did in this chapter.**

**I know, you're all thinking ****_holy crap this chapter's LOOONG!_**** but you're also thinking ****_two chapters posted in one day?_**** well, I was gonna post this chapter first until I realized that I didn't post chapter 6 first, so I went on with that and well... yeah.**

**review please! I LOVE YOU ALL 3**


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